Hair dryer



Oct. 16, 1962 s. ROMlTO 3,058,231

HAIR DRYER Filed Sept. 1, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 \5s F|G.l.

INVENTOR Leopold S. Rorni'ro wig/W ATTORNEY Oct. 16, 1962 L. s. ROMITO 3,058,231

HAIR DRYER Filed Sept. 1, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Leopold S. Romito 42 ATTORNEY L. S. ROMITO HAIR DRYER Oct. 16, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 1, 1960 FIG. 8.

IN VENTOR Leopold S. Romito ATTORNEY United rates Patent 3,058,231 HAW DRYER Leopold S. Romito, Romito-Donnelly Corp, Ravenna, Ohio Filed Sept. 1, 1960, Ser. No. 53,453 6 Claims. (Cl. 34-90) This invention relates to hair treatment apparatus and it is more particularly concerned with devices conventionally attached to reclining chairs for drying the hair, such as are used in womens beauty parlors or salons.

Hair dryers of the type mentioned conventionally include a headpiece or hood which is placed over the head of the occupant of the chair and through which drying air is forced about the head.

An object of the invention is the provision of a novel means for supporting the hood on the chair.

Another object of the invention is the provision of such novel supporting means and adjustments therefor by virtue of which the occupant of the chair can herself readily and easily change the position of the hood while seated in the chair undergoing treatment, to meet her convenience and comfort without waiting for or requiring the attention of the beautician or other personnel of the salon.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a mounting for a hood of the type mentioned which can be adjustably raised and lowered and, afterwards releasably clamped in any desired position by the occupant alone, without altering her position in the chair.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of means by which the occupant may, additionally change the position of the hood in the forward and rearward direction by herself as well as changing the angle of tilt of the hood.

The position which a persons head occupies when the person is seated in the chair is diiferent for different persons, depending on the height of the persons body, the natural tilt of the persons head, how the person is sitting in the chair, etc. Thus, in order for the drying hood to be placed on the head in a position which will be convenient and comfortable and also one which will allow the person to shift positions while under the dryer for the sake of added comfort and convenience, it is the general object of the invention to provide various adjustments for the positioning and repositioning of the hood by the occupant of the chair while undergoing treatment.

These objects and still further objects, advantages and features of the invention will appear more fully from the following description in connection with the appended drawing forming a part of the disclosure hereof.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an embodiment of the invention in conjunction with a chair and showing by the use of broken lines, alternate positions of the hood.

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the upper part of the embodiment, partly broken away.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view along the line 44 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a fragmentary portion of the hood and bracket portions adjacent thereto generally along the line 66 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the same fragmentary portion of the hood and bracket portions adjacent thereto along the line 77 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the upper part of the chair in combination with a modified embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view along the line 9-9 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 10 is a side eievational view of the bracket and hood apart from the chair, partly broken away.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view along the line 11-11 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view along the line 1212 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view along the line 13-13 of FIG. 12.

Referring with more particularity to the drawing in which like numerals designate like parts, the first embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 7 in combination with a treatment chair 21 to be occupied by the person whose hair is to be dried.

The back section 22 of the chair is hollow to receive a unit 23 containing a hot air system, said system comprising an air blower 24 and a vertical stack or chimney 25 attached to and projecting upwardly from the delivery end '26 of the blower. The intake 27 of the blower receives air exclusively through an air filter 28 set in an opening 29 of the unit and electric heating elements 30 are disposed between the filter and the intake 27. These heating elements are brought under the control of the occupant of the chair by means of electrical switches operated by switch buttons 31 on the arm rest 32 of the chair.

The upper end of the stack 25 terminates in a neck 33 to which one end of a flexible corrugated air tube 34 is secured by a clamp 35. The other end of the tube 34 is secured by a clamp 36 to the air inlet flange 37 of the hood or headpiece 38. This flexible tube is completely yieldable so as to adjust to the manifold movements of the headpiece and it is, therefore, wholly incapable of supporting the headpiece.

Support for the headpiece is provided by separate means comprising a vertical hollow post 39 of square or other non-circular cross-section. This post extends from the bottom wall 40 of the unit 23 to the top and it is secured in position by U-straps 41 against the stack 25. The bottom end of post 39 is closed with a plug 42 and the top end is open.

Within the post 39 there is slidably disposed a vertical bar 43 having a cross-section corresponding to that of the post 39. The upper end of the bar is bent forwardly to provide a forwardly projecting horizontal arm 44. This arm is slidably engaged with and it telescopically carries a horizontal bar 45 of corresponding non-circular crosssection.

The outer end of the bar 4 5 is straddled by a yoke bracket 46 to which it is hinged by a pintle 47. Between the arms 48 and 49 of the yoke (FIG. 6) and the adjacent sides of the bar 45 there are disposed in compression rubber pads 50 and 51, respectively, to provide friction against pivotal movement under the weight of the headpiece alone, but permitting such movement by the application of light manual force.

The yoke bracket 46 has flanges 52 by which it is secured to the hood with rivets 53.

The weight of the bar 43 and of the members carried thereby is counterbalanced by a coil spring 54 between the bottom of the bar 43 and the plug 42.

The sliding movement of the bar 45 relative to the arm 44 is limited by a slot 55 in the bar which slidably engages a pin 56 secured to the arm. A set screw 57 is provided between the arm and the bar 45 within reach of the occupant of the chair to secure the two members in adjusted positions when desired. Release of this set 3 screw permits relative movement of these members within the limits afforded by the slot 55.

The position of the bar 43 relative to the post 39 is also releasably secured by means of a remote control-led clamp comprising a horizontal sleeve 58 having one end secured to the side wall of the post 39 about an aperture 59 in the post.

The sleeve 58 contains at its inner end a threaded member 60 which engages the threaded end 61 of a horizontal shaft 67. Thus, by rotation of the shaft 62 in one direction, the end thereof is protracted through the aperture 59 to abut the bar 43 and clamp it in position to the post 39 while rotation in the opposite direction retracts the shaft from this clamping position.

The shaft 62 extends outwardly from the end of sleeve 58 and the unit 23 to the exterior of the chair on one side thereof and it is secured to an arm 63 which projects forwardly and is provided with a hand grip or knob 64 within easy grasp of a person sitting in the chair. The movement of this arm is limited by a straddling. yoke 65 attached to the side of the chair so as not to require excessive movement by the person. The threads 61 of the shaft 62 and of the engaging member 6! are steeply pitched to permit sufiicient protraction and retraction for the clamping and unclamping under the limita tions of movement imposed by the yoke 65'.

From the above it is apparent that the head piece is freely adjustable relative to the head of the occupant and that it can be readily adjusted for tilt, for forward and backward movement and for elevation to suit the convenience and comfort of the occupant at anytime either by the occupant herself or by someone else.

An alternative embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 13 in connection with a similar type of chair provided with a similar hood and air drying system as shown by the application of like numerals.

The post 39 of the first embodiment is in this alternative embodiment replaced by a post 66 in which there is slidably mounted a vertical bar 67. At the upper end of the bar 67 there is disposed a hollow tubular bracket 68 of square or other non-circular cross-section, generally horizontal, adapted to slidab ly engage a hollow bar 69 of corresponding cross-section and to which it is releasably clamped by a thumb screw 70.

An arm 71 is integral with the bracket 68 and it projects therebelow for pivotal attachment to the upper end of the vertical bar 67 by means of a pintle 72. Between the arm 71 and inner wall of the bar 67 there are disposed friction pads such as the compressed rubber pads 73 and 74 about the pintle 72. (See 1 16. 9.)

The bar 68 is provided with a slot 75 in its bottom wall which slidably engages the stem of a screw 76 attached to and projecting upwardly from the bottom of the bracket 68.

The hood 38 is attached to the forward end of the bar 69 by means of a bracket 77. As in the case of the first embodiment the vertical bar 67 and parts carried thereby are counterbalanced by a coil spring 78 between the bottom of said bar and an annular shoulder 79' at the bottom of the post '65 formed by crimping the post inwardly at that point.

By these means the head post can be readily raised and lowered and adjusted forwardly and backwardly by the occupant of the chair to provide for the most comfortable and convenient position during treatment.

The upper end of the post 63 is provided with a collar 80 held in place by a set screw 81. This set screw passes through an aperture 82 of the post to abut the bar 67 and, hence, permit clamping it in different vertical positions.

This is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 752,456, filed August 6, 1959', now abandoned.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. Hair treatment apparatus comprising a chair having a hollow back section, a hot air genenating unit disposed within the back section, said unit comprising a pipe through which the hot air is forced, a headpiece on the exterior of the chair independent of the pipe for receiving hot air from the unit and applying it to the hair of a persons head to be treated, an extensible tube connecting said pipe to said headpiece for transmission of the hot air, means independent of the extensible tube connected to the chair and projecting through the hollow back section for supporting the headpiece in different positions vertically, forwardly and backwardly, and angularly, and means concealed within the hollow back section for releasably clamping the headpiece in its different vertical positions, and a control member on the exterior of the hollow back section for selectively operating said concealed means.

2. Hair treatment apparatus as defined by claim 2 in which the control member is disposed Within the reach of a person seated in the chair.

3. Hair treatment apparatus as defined by claim 1 and means for counterbalancing the headpiece and parts moveable therewith against the force of gnavity.

4. Hair treatment apparatus comprising a chair having a hollow back section, a unit in said hollow section for generating a stream of hot air, a pipe within the hollow section for transmitting said stream of hot air from the unit, a headpiece on the exterior of the chair independent of the pipe for receiving hot air from the unit and applying it to the hair on a per-sons head to be treated, a flexible and extensible tuibe connecting said pipe to said headpiece for transmission of the hot air, a stationary hollow post secured to the chair within the hollow section, a vertical bar slidably disposed on the post, the upper end of the bar having a horizontal arm on the exterior of the chair extending forwardly relative to the chair, a horizontal bar telescopably mounted on the horizontal arm, :a bracket attached to the headpiece and frictionally pivoted to the outer end of the horizontal bar, and a coil spring within the post between the bottom thereof and the lower end of the vertical bar for counterbalancing the Weight of the bar and parts carried thereby.

5. Hair treatment apparatus as defined by claim 4 in which the post and vertical bar are of a non-circular cross-section thereby to maintain the horizontal arm of the vertical bar and members carried thereby fixed in orientation relative to an occupant of the chair.

6. Hair neatmen-t apparatus as defined by claim 4 and a horizontal sleeve within the hollow back section secured to one side of the post parallel to the back of the chair, said post having a hole adjacent to and in alignment with the sleeve, a shaft of smaller diameter than the hole rotatably mounted in the sleeve, said shaft having a threaded section, means integral with the sleeve threadedly engaging said threaded section, said shaft extending on one side through the hole in the post and on the other side beyond the end of the sleeve to the side and exteriorly of the chair, an arm having one end fixed to the shaft at the side of the chair, the other end of the arm extending forwardly on the exterior of the chair Within the reach of a person when seated in the chair.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,787,251 Janke et al Dec. 30, 1930 1,796,384 McElroy Mar. 17, 1931 2,266,653 Miller Dec. 16, 1941 2,339,159 Duncan et a1. Jan. 11, 1944 2,420,251 LaForiyes May 6, 1947 2,474,427 Kending June 28, 1949 2,703,134 Mossor Mar. 1, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 784,311 France July 22, 1935 

